When discharged, various substances produced during combustion of gun powder and ammunition adhere to inner surface of the gun barrel. Deposits inside the gun barrel can lower the accuracy of the gun and lead to corrosion inside the barrel. Accordingly, after the gun barrel is used, the substances stuck on the inside of the gun barrel need to be removed.
Typically, disassembly, cleaning, and lubrication of the gun is time consuming. The gun barrel is often cleaned using a brush fixed to an end part of a rod, and by repetitive pushing/pulling of the rod into/from the gun barrel. This action removes substances remaining in the gun barrel after firing. However, the dislodged material can deposit in certain areas of the gun barrel such as the threads present in the breech area of a firearm.
Modern muzzle loading firearms have been refined to allow an “in line” design. The side lock had been replaced with a primer or other detonation/ignition device that is located directly behind the powder charge. To facilitate cleaning and maintenance, the rear portion of the barreled action is removable. This removable portion is called a removable breech plug. The removable breech plug attaches to the breech area of the firearm.
The removable breech plug is secured and removed by various thread designs. Some are screwed into place with standard type threading. Other threading designs also exist and more designs may be developed in the future. A “quarter turn” design is one such example. Regardless of the mechanism for securing or removing the breech plug, the reason for removing it remains the same, to facilitate thorough cleaning of the firearm.
When a breech plug is removed from a firearm, it allows a person to clean the barrel from one end of the barrel completely through to the other end of the barrel. As cleaning devices, brushes, patches, solvents, lubricants, and preservatives are pushed through the barrel during cleaning, they tend to deposit debris such as products of combustion, remnants of the cleaning solvent, and lubricating agents in the threads which secure the breech plug to the breech area of the firearm.
Such contaminants are often difficult to remove from the threads of the breech area and require additional care and time. If not removed carefully, the debris can cause the breech plug to not seat properly. The debris can also cause corrosion of the barrel. If this occurs, the breech plug may either not install properly, or if installed, may become lodged and difficult to remove without damage to the plug or the barrel.
The present invention is directed to overcoming these and other deficiencies in the art.